The Three Kingdoms: Rise to Power Starting with Intercepting Liu Bei

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Just as Liu Bowen sent someone to Pengcheng to deliver a message, Sun Ce, Yan Baihu, and others gathered in Liu Bei's camp at the Guangling front to discuss how to capture Guangling before Qin Xuan returned to Xuzhou.

"Gentlemen, Guangling County is currently garrisoned by 20,000 troops led by Li Jing, a general under Qin Xuan, and he also has a fierce general like Qin Qiong under his command!"

"I believe this stalemate cannot continue. According to our scouts, the Xiliang army in Chang'an has been wiped out, and Qin Xuan and his men are probably on their way back. If the Great Snow Dragon Cavalry joins the battle, we have no chance of winning!"

The speaker was Zhou Yu. When Liu Bei, together with Sun Ce and others, was planning to attack Xuzhou, Sun Ce specifically summoned Zhou Yu and obtained thousands of troops recruited by Zhou Yu, as well as a large amount of grain, weapons and equipment.

"Kid, speak your mind. I, Yan Baihu, fully support you. However, I want to take a larger share of the previously designated territory!"

Just then, Yan Baihu, inside the military tent, said casually that he had put in almost all his strength in this operation, and his troops had suffered particularly heavy losses. Therefore, he wanted to take advantage of this opportunity to quickly capture Guangling and expand his strength.

Immediately, everyone's eyes turned to him. The hot-tempered Zhang Fei was the first to jump out, pointing his finger at the other man and shouting:

"What? It was all agreed upon long ago. You still want to take more? Let me tell you, I, Zhang Yide, will be the first to object."

"If it weren't for your incompetent men who cowered during the siege, we might have already taken Guangling. We wouldn't be stuck with that brat Qin Xuan's men until now!"

"How dare you speak so arrogantly here? Who gave you the audacity?!"

Zhang Fei's loud shouts and accusations startled everyone in the military tent, especially Yan Baihu, whose ears were ringing as if someone was playing a chunyu (a type of ancient Chinese stringed instrument) next to his ear.

The chunyu is a bronze percussion instrument shaped like an inverted cylinder, with a lid on top, slightly wider shoulders, and a narrower waist, forming an inverted triangle overall. It usually has a button or ring on the top for easy hanging and carrying.

Its sound is "clear and resonant for a long time" and "loud like thunder," with strong penetrating power and reverberation effect.

Yan Baihu had never been treated like this before. After the noise subsided, he suddenly stood up, slammed his hand on the table, looked around, and shouted:

"Fine, you can continue this meeting. I'm not going to serve you anymore. I'm leading my troops back to Wu Commandery to see how long you can hold out!"

As he spoke, he walked towards the exit of the military tent. Seeing this, Liu Bei quickly grabbed him and advised him:

"General Yan, please don't leave! You are the most important person to us here. If you leave, we won't be able to accomplish anything. My third brother has a fiery temper. I'm here to apologize to you. Please calm down!"

Liu Bei's sincere persuasion made Yan Baihu feel much better, and he sat down again. He had only been putting on an act; if he had suffered heavy losses and left without gaining any benefit, that would have been a huge loss for him.

"Alright, do you agree to the conditions I just mentioned?"

Yan Baihu looked at Liu Bei and asked again, since he was the one who proposed the alliance, and it would be fine as long as Liu Bei agreed.

But he forgot one thing: he was the weakest of the three forces, yet he was still so arrogant.

Before Liu Bei could give an answer, Sun Ce suddenly spoke up from inside the tent:

"Our most important task now is not how to divide the spoils of war, but to take Guangling as soon as possible before Qin Xuan and his Great Snow Dragon Riders return."

"Otherwise, all of this is just empty talk!"

Sun Ce's words were both helping Liu Bei out of a predicament and also implying that Yan Baihu lacked any strategic awareness, thinking about opening champagne halfway through the battle before it was even over, which was simply wishful thinking.

Upon hearing this, Yan Baihu turned around and glared fiercely at Sun Ce. If looks could kill, Sun Ce would have died countless times just now.

Upon hearing Sun Ce's words, Liu Bei realized what was happening and replied with a smile:

"Yes, Bo Fu is right. It's not too late to discuss this after Guangling has been captured!"

Seeing the two forces working in concert, Yan Baihu could only sigh and continue listening to Zhou Yu analyze the battle situation.

They discussed it until lunchtime but still couldn't reach a conclusion. The main problem was that nobody wanted to be the sucker, rushing to the front only to end up benefiting others.

After returning to his own camp, Sun Ce summoned Zhou Yu to his military tent, where they discussed matters over a meal.

"Gongjin, tell me, do we have a chance to capture Guangling this time?"

Sun Ce had barely swallowed his first bite of food when he couldn't wait to ask the question. After all, his close friend was well-read and possessed impeccable strategic vision.

"Difficult!" Zhou Yu shoveled a mouthful of rice into his mouth, chewed it quickly, and continued, "Qin Xuan is already on his way back and won't be back for a while. My biggest worry is that Xiaopei's army will come to our aid!"

"I heard that Qin Xuan has stationed 10,000 elite troops in Xiaopei. If these 10,000 troops are deployed to the Guangling front, we will have no chance of winning!"

Zhou Yu had already thoroughly investigated Qin Xuan's military deployments, and everyone knew the importance of Xiaopei, so Qin Xuan would not fail to send a large force to defend it.

Sun Ce thought for a moment and then asked:

"In your opinion, will they transfer the elite troops stationed in Xiaopei here?"

Sun Ce still harbored unrealistic fantasies about Guangling, hoping to take advantage of his superior forces to conquer it with lightning tactics. He himself still didn't have a stable territory.

As Sun Ce's close friend, how could Zhou Yu not understand his little gesture?

After quickly swallowing a mouthful of rice, he said unhurriedly:

"Actually, that's no longer important. Our target should be Yan Baihu. You saw what happened not long ago. Yan Baihu is insatiable, and even Liu Bei has developed a grudge against him."

"If Liu Bei hadn't been trying to maintain the overall situation, Zhang Fei and Yan Baihu would probably have started fighting."

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce seemed to understand something, and exclaimed in surprise with wide eyes:

"You mean, we should secretly join forces with Liu Bei to wipe out Yan Baihu?"

Zhou Yu nodded heavily in agreement.

Upon seeing Zhou Yu's actions, Sun Ce quickly began to formulate a plan in his mind.

Yan Baihu was a local strongman in Wu Commandery and the main obstacle to his advance into Jiangdong. If he could join forces with Liu Bei to eliminate Yan Baihu, he would have one less enemy, and most importantly, he could also get rid of the predicament of lacking food and manpower.

Wu County was the most prosperous region in Jiangdong, with a large population and developed agriculture. Occupying Wu County was equivalent to occupying most of Yangzhou.

"But would Liu Bei agree?"

Sun Ce made up his mind and then expressed his concerns.

"Hehe, Bo Fu, just wait and see. I'm certain Liu Bei will come to visit you. Judging from my observation of Liu Bei, he would never let such an opportunity slip by!"

Back in Liu Bei's camp, after Sun Ce, Yan Baihu, and the others left, Zhang Fei began to complain to his elder brother:

"Brother, that brat Yan Baihu is so ungrateful! If you hadn't stopped me, I would have beaten him to a pulp. How could he be so greedy and insatiable!"

However, Liu Bei showed no reaction to Zhang Fei's complaints, remaining expressionless and simply saying:

"Third brother, don't get upset. After dinner, come with me to Sun Ce's camp to discuss how to capture Guangling!"